Shoudl eye drops burn?

So I've been prescribed Restasis fopr the second time in my life. For those of you who don't know, there's some of us in the world that don't produce enough real tears and end up wit hdry eyes. I think it's because we're heartless or something, at least that might be Sam's argument against me.

I once had a test done in high school to measure my tears (I don't know the details of this I just remember the numbers and the overview of this test, so you doctors out there, don't get mad at me). Apparently the average person is supposed to have 35 tears when they stick these little strips in your eyes that measure such things as tears. Well my eyes managed to produce 5 tiny, meager, little tears. That's how dry my eyes are. My life is awesome.

Anyways, back to my original point, I was prescribed these artificail tear maker or enhancer (or whatever doctors call it nowadays) to help my eyes get ready for Lasik surgery in January. Tiny sidenote, I'm getting LASIK in January, I'm so excited!!!!! You get warned a million different times about the eye drops and about how it makes your eyes burn when you put them in but that it's a normal side effect, and not to worry about it. Now, I'll start by saying that thankfully I seem to be one of the few who doesn't feel any burning when using these eye drops; however, there is no way I will be using something that makes my eyes burn everytime I use it. That doesn't seem natural. On top of that, the prescription without insurance cost like $400 three months. That's ridiculous! thank god for insurance and promo cards. It came out to $10 dollars. Now that's a number I can handle.

Alright, rant about eye drops is done. Although I do love them, because my eyes feel so much better.

Happy Tuesday!

Thanksgiving and catching up

I know I said I was going to try posting more often. Clearly, I lied. well not really lied but didn't follow through. In my defense, my job involves a crazy 4th quarter. I know, you're thinking 'duh. who's doesn't?' But really  mine actually mainly revolves around January 1st. It's a blast and I love it, but my life spins out of control during this time of year. It's all I can do to keep my personal life straight.

Lucky for you guys, I've a some good friends reminding me not to forgot about you and requesting an update . So here's my life update:

1. Thanksgiving was wonderful and full of family time! It was probably one of the best ever this year. Although I feel like I say this every year.
2. I went black Friday shopping for the first time ever. And by Black Friday shopping, I mean I woke up late, and went to a few stores to check out washers and dryers (I was successful). I feel like an adult now.
3. I rode my bike a few times at home and decided that I need to work harder to include it in my new life downtown. I stopped riding when I moved because I was scared of the streets and I loved riding at home so much. Time to kick that stupid excuse and ride every weekend. Since I'm dead set on doing the MS 150 this year.
4. My running has been terrible lately. As in I only ran once over the holiday.But that also, is getting kicked in the butt (I'm not sure if anyone is counting the amount of times I've said this in my posts, we're probably at 12 or so). I met some of my sisters cool running friends, and even though I'll be the fat slow girl, I'm going to go run with them on Thursdays. They're all super nice and I think a running group would do me good.
5. I saw my bff from middle school this week and spent 5 hours talking at Starbucks with her, so we decided we need to see each other more, so I'm visiting her soon :) This will be exciting!

I gotta start Christmas shopping and make sure I don't wait until the last minute..again. I just never know what to get people. Wish me luck since I hate shopping. Speaking of hating shopping, my sister and I are embarking on this journey of her helping me look more put together. I lover her and am not sure what I'd do without her, but the girl takes her fashion very seriously. I hope she can teach me something useful.

Oh and lastly, this Thanksgiving my mom and sister cooked amazing food. It was delicious. I sat on the couch watching my Texans play and did no cooking whatsoever. Well, I mashed potatoes and washed 3 dishes. That was my Thanksgiving contribution. In my defense I couldn't miss my Texans first Thanksgiving game ever (they nearly killed me but we puled out a win). I think I'm justified? Next up on my 'learn to be a put together adult list' is learning to cook and enjoying it. Right after my sister finishes my fashion training. This means that I'll get around to the cooking part when I'm 57. Hope you stick around till then.

Happy Monday! Hope everyone had an awesome Thanksgiving. Thanks for making it through my ramble of a post.

As promised a new blog post :)

This weekend started out pretty bad. I didn't make it to the race in time and missed my favorite race of the year. The Pumpkin Fun run, they give me a long sleeved shirt for participating so my hear is with them forever. While I was upset about not making it in time for the start I stuck around to watch my wonderful friend finish and then hang out with her for a little bit. Btw, the reason I didn't make it is because downtown Houston sucks and I forgot my money, and you've got to pay to park everywhere. Awesome. I ended up parking wherever, hoping I wouldn't get a ticket, or worse, get towed. No ticket. So moral of the story, if you know you plan on breaking the rules anyways (little rules not felonies or anything) just do it before you miss a race.

Putting that behind me I went home for the weekend. I know, God forbid I miss a weekend at my parents house. Don't judge, if your parents were as awesome as mine, you'd be there all the time too. Over all the weekend was really god and relaxing. I slept in until 10:30 AM on Sunday, that hasn't happened in ages. I also, may have accidentally locked my parents out of the house Saturday night. I'm either super lame by being home before them or they deserved it for being home so late. I won't be living that one down anytime soon.

So confession time: my running has been terrible. I haven't logged more than 3 miles in about 2-3 weeks. Keep in mind, I'm supposed to run a half marathon in a little over a month. I swore I wouldn't get defeated, yet once again I stopped training. The good news is that I ran 6 miles this morning. Mainly because it felt good. I didn't suffer, I didn't hurt too bad (my hip has been hurting for a few days but it stopped while I was running). I'd say it was a good way to start the week off. Now I'm back in the swing of training, I'll do my best to train as much as I can before the event and do my best. I refuse to not show up. It's also in Vegas, and I'm pretty excited about going there.

I'm also obsessed with the idea of going to the Grand Canyon this summer. I haven't taken a real vacation in probably 3 years. And I want to get out and do something fun. Living in a big city, I miss nature. my current goal is to organize that for this summer's adventure.

That's it for Monday, I hope every one has a fantastic week!

And I'm back...hopefully

So it's been quite a while since I've written anything at all. Not that I haven't had ideas, I think of plenty of things I want to share but it's been a hard couple of weeks. There's been some great times and definitely some lows. 

BUT having said all that...I've got a 5K to run tomorrow with a great friend, then I'm headed home to hang out with my parents. Although Sam is out of town :( I will still make it a great weekend and get a good post together for you guys.

It's been a really bad running/healthy eating time but I'm about to turn all that around and get back into it and kick butt.

Stay tuned to hear all about how :)

I've been a total slacker...

Not only by not posting a single blog this week, but by only running once. Yep, in the middle of my half marathon training I took a week hiatus that I will probably pay viciously for.

Want to know the worst part? There was no real reason for this hiatus. I just 'didn't feel like waking up early'. BS excuse. I, out of all people, should know better. I've been through this before. I've gotten healthy before. And I have a no excuses policy, meaning I do it or I do it. That's it. Clearly that all went to hell in a hand basket this week. I do plan on running 6 miles tomorrow (god help me). And going on a bike ride. That's if my bike gets fixed in time.

I talked to a coworker and she's going to send me a running club link and see if that helps. She's run a marathon before and she's pretty awesome, so I'm going to trust her advice.

So let's hope that gets better soon. Oh and that I stop eating like I'm a starved human being. Pretty sure I've gained like 30 lbs in a week. I can't seem to care about anything this week. I need to get over that quick! However, this over eating business has allowed me to discover my new love: yogurtland. It sounds healthy; it's not.

Now I know I'm way behind on this frozen yogurt trend, but it was the most amazing dessert ever. Any dessert chain that allows me to put three ice creams and 7 toppings in my bowl has my heart forever. I'm not exaggerating about the toppings, sour gummy worms were involved.y eyes have been opened to this heavenly place, which spells trouble for Sam since he now will have to take me there.

Last update, I promise (thanks for reading this far), is about office manners. Now I understand the need for politeness an respect. But what's with the 4000 thank yous back and forth when you do someone a favor?

I mean I appreciate it but the 'thank you' 'no thank you' 'oh I couldn't have done it without you' 'it was your expertise that got us through'... seriously? Just give sincere thanks , the other person should graciously accept it and then done! I don't want to spend half of my work day on pleasantries. Maybe I'm a jerk but it seems unnecessary and fake. Done with that rant.

Please excuse any grammar mistakes, this is written from my phone (you know because I'm a slacker) and proofreading is hard on a phone.

Happy weekend everyone! I'll be spending mine at my parents house (aka heaven) for my dad's birthday!

Training and make up problems..

So I think I've figured out why I tend to have one bad run a week. It's because of the Body Pump class. Every week since I've started I've only made one class a week. (Yeah I'm a slacker, judge me later, I've got a story to finish. ) anyways, I've noticed that the bad runs are always after the day I do body pump. Not because it's a bad class or doesn't go well with running. The problem is that the body pump class is from 6-7 PM and I run at 5:30 AM. Those means my body has less than 12 hours to recover. Now, it's possible I'm just a wimp, or being dramatic. But I don't think I can tire my legs out with weights and then go running after that. So now I don't know what to do. I need those Body Pump classes, but I can't let my runs suffer. And I hate running at night. I will ponder this problem, anyone have any suggestions?

My second problem is that I'm like a 5 year old when trying to put on make up. Don't believe me?

That's both hands. 6 fingers covered in eyeliner. I'm a mess. Maybe one day I'll grow up, get over my PB&J sandwich obsession and become a real functioning adult...

Off to bed for an early morning work out. Good night everyone. Hope you had a happy Thursday.

I stole this idea from my favorite blogger..

So my favorite blogger Macie does this really cool thing on Wednesdays called On Repeat. She posts a song that she's really loving and gives background or explains why she loves it. 

Having said that here's my On Repeat Wednesday song:

My other favorite friend Chelsea (ok I have lots of really good friends) showed my Taylor Swift's new song yesterday. and by show I mean emailed the link because she's lame and lives far away. Now although I absolutely adore Taylor Swift, it's not in the common obsessed with her life and trying to figure out who every song is about. I simply don't care about that. I love Taylor's gift of pinning a song that every girl (and I suspect guy) can relate to. And I'll admit she seems really cool and I'd love to be her BFFs with her. 

so take some time to listen to Begin Again, it's pretty awesome.

Fighting off Laziness

Lately I've been really lazy about workouts that aren't running. I've been loving the miles spent running. But I find that when I'm not running I usually want to sleep or do nothing. The gym doesn't sound appealing and neither does anything else. While I had a great (fairly busy) weekend. The weeks just get me.

I'm usually go, go, go on the weekends. And there week comes around and I find myself recovering from the weekend. Don't think that's how it's supposed to go. I really need to learn to go to bed at a decent hot during the week.

But I'm super excited about this weekend, I'm headed to San Marcos (aka is San Marvelous) and seeing my best friend Chelsea for her birthday :) So excited. Won't get any sleep this weekend either, but my social life is more important right?

So, I'm debating buying another pair of Pro Compression socks. Not because I think they're the most amazing thing ever like every other tuning out there. While I like them and feel no soreness after my runs when I do wear them, I just have found them to be more of a mental help. I haven't have a bad run while wearing the socks. Maybe that is them helping, but I think it's because I feel like more of a runner with them on? I believe they are originally designed for much longer runs than what I am doing. Which might account for the lack of amazement from them, but I love wearing them regardless. How's that for not making sense?

How do you fight off laziness?

Should I get the socks?

Thanks for sticking through this very boring post...

Morning runs are my favorite

Today's run was a 5-miler. And while in this training session it has been the farthest I've run, I don't fl quite yet like I've accomplished much distance. All in all, I'm proud of myself and what I've accomplished. It has been hard and there's been days I didn't want to run or didn't really care about my goals. But I pushed through knowing I've wanted this for years. I'm nowhere near done, and I've got quite a bit more to accomplish, but today after a 5 mile run in 58 minutes (I've finally admitted how slow of a runner I am) I feel good and happy. Here's a great weekend with plenty of food my mom sent home with my sister and i after our family dinner last night! 

Yay for amazing family and friends! Have a good one!

Acting like an adult..

I've always been jealous of those girls who are always so put together and look really cute in the latest trends. My sister is one of those girls. And I swear she always looks like she's coming from a photo shoot.Whatever she's wearing, she wears it well. I, on the other hand, am the awkward girl who would rather wear sweats at all times, except we live in Texas and I would melt. I always feel like I missed some huge assembly where girls were taught how to dress, do their make up, and hair. 

It's like somebody was editing that guest list, saw my name and was like "she's gonna be a train wreck anyways, skip her invite". I'm not exaggerating, I don't even know how to do my hair other than down or in a ponytail. Let's not even start on make up. And while I can sometimes fake the whole cute outfit thing, usually I'm just a jeans and random t-shirt girl. I wish I know how to dress up, how to put outfits together, and how to shop. 

Seems like it would help at work too. I hate walking into meetings and finding out I am the only girl with my hair up and no make up. Like everyone else looks professional and I look like I rolled out of bed (it's probably exactly hat happened) and stumbled into this job. It might even help me feel grown up? 

I'd say that's pushing it, but I'd love to learn how to do hair (doesn't help that my hair is short, not much i can do with it). So anyone have any tips on clothes or hair for me? Macie, this is for you and Val. Y'all are always so adorable, I wanna be like y'all. Let's see each other this weekend and go shopping :)

How to salvage a failed museum day

This weekend was pretty successful. I cooked two of the three nights. Anyone who knows me knows this is a miracle. I also baked a pumpkin bread loaf. It's fall, I had to. Now I have to bake Val's banana bread that I promised her 2 years ago...she hasn't forgotten yet apparently. So let's look for a recipe to make her the best banana bread ever. As usual recipes are welcome :)

I had a 4 mile run as part of my half marathon training, and normally I wouldn't have been fearful of just 4 little miles. On Friday I had quite a terrible 3 mile run. I couldn't even finish that run. I felt so defeated. But after half of a meltdown, a pep talk from Sam, and a little courage I went out there Saturday and rocked my 4 mile run. It felt great, I didn't feel like giving up and I was very steady with my snail pace.

The rest of Saturday didn't go as planned. Sam and I were going to hit up the museums for Museum District Day which meant free general admission, but parking was impossible. It was packed and after trying to find a spot for 15 minutes (I actually have no idea how long we looked but it was over 10 minutes) we decided it wasn't worth it. Not wanting to throw away an afternoon, Sam suggested we go to the Flying Saucer. So instead of going to educational museums all day, we're not headed for a bar at 1 PM...sounds like my kind of afternoon.  for anyone who doesn't know what the Flying Saucer is, it's a restaurant/bar that has a bunch of beers available. We're talking over 200. 

There happens to be a UFO club (corny I know) where if you drink over 200 different beers you get a golden or silver plate on the wall. We have a few friends doing it and thought it would be fun to join them. This is not a 'if everyone jumped off a bridge' scenario. You also get a T-shirt with the card, so I was pretty much sold. If you give me a shirt, I'll pretty much do anything.

And lastly, Sam taught me how to drive his car (he drives a manual). And I did pretty decent in the parking lot, I was almost proud of myself (the first time we tried, it went horribly). Then he told me I was driving home. Jerk. I stalled the car a few times on my way home, that was tons of fun. Especially when other cars honk at you. Apparently practice lessons are in my future...joy.
I kid, I actually really want to learn how to drive a manual, but it scares me. It will also save me a lot of money when I need a new car. Major bonus right there. So if you're in the Houston area, I'll warn you when my next practice session is so you can stay indoors and safe.

Happy Monday Everyone!

And the verdict is..

That might car is fixable! Good news for today. No car payments for me! Just a huge deductible. And two weeks of rocking my Chrysler 200 (car rental) because that's how long the repairs will take.

In other slacker news, I overslept this morning and didn't make it out to run. So I'll have to go tonight an cut my time with Sam short. This is one of the main reasons I (try to) go running in the AM, it leaves my evenings free to spend how I want (read: mainly sitting on my bed on pinterest). Now not only did I oversleep and feel like crap, I have to make uptime run tonight; causing me to have to change the plans I already had. Bummer. One day I'll learn the snooze button is nothing but trouble. Or you know, that the 'turning your alarm off before you get out of bed' thing is also no good. This is the reason I have 4 alarms set every monring. Not kidding.

In amazing news, my dad got tickets to go to the Texans game on Sept. 30th! You can bet your most prized possesion that I'm super excited, and acting like a 5 year old at Christmas! This is the best news this month :)

And lastly, on this incredibly riveting post, my Pro compression socks came in. I'll try them out Friday and see how I feel. I'm kinda ready for disappointment and kinda expecting magic, from all the reviews I've read on every single fitness blog ever. Now the challenge will be getting those socks over my calves.....

Have you ever tried compression socks? Did you like them? How excited are you about the Houston Texans this season?

That last question is silly, I know everyone is so excited excited that the Houston Texans are playing again (and the rest of the NFL too)

This is how I felt this morning:

I have a confession..

I have yet to go grocery shopping this month. And I ran out of food a week ago. What I mean by food, is that I ran out of anything that makes sense as a meal a week ago. For the past week, I've eaten random stuff like just an egg for breakfast, turkey on a corn tortilla for dinner, or plain yogurt for lunch. I've also gotten to the point whereI'm out of eggs, bread, and oatmeal. The three staples in my diet.

also, popcorn has become a favorite for dinner. I'm getting used to bigger lunches so I'll make a big batch of popcorn since I'm not hungry and I want to go to bed early without the really full feeling. It's not so much that I can't afford groceries (I'm not swimming in money like Donald Duck's uncle) but I have enough to feed myself.

If you don't know who this, you've been deprived of your childhood. This is also how I hope my future goes:

 I'm just really lazy, especially when it comes to going grocery shopping. And when we visited my mom yesterday she sent my sister and I off with enough food for the week. And yes, you guessed it, I will probably not go get any food until that stuff runs out.

Am I weird for doing this? Or does anyone else prefer semi-starvation to going to the store?

In better news, today was the first day of my half marathon training and it went really well. I mean I only ran 3 miles, which is what I've been doing but I ran it in 34 minutes. That's a good time for me, I'm slow. I don't care though, I've learned that as long as I'm running and improving it's no ones business how fast I go.

I also need new running shoes. Anyone have a favorite brand or specific shoe? 

Happy monday! :) 

Car troubles continued..

So remember when I told y'all I was so excited that the fuel pump was covered under warranty and I got out of paying 1237932 gazillion dollars for car crap? Well the day after I got my car out of the shop, I got into a car wreck. Awesome, right? 

This is also the reason I haven't updated in a while. I picked my car up Wednesday, crashed it Thursday (didn't step foot in my apt until 10:30 that night, and picked up a car rental Saturday until we figure out the damages and see if it's reparable or totaled. 

This means I may have to be a real grown up (you know as opposed to the fake kind I usually like to impersonate) and go car shopping. Start praying for me that all I owe is my deductible, because this slacker is not ready for a car payment.

Other than the car issues my weekend went pretty smoothly. I bought  Texans Blanket (as in the team, not the citizens of the state) and Sunday I went to visit my parents and we made (and ate) homemade pasta. It was a blast. I've been to my parents house three times since Thursday, I think my mom secretly instigated this to happen so she could see me more. I've been pretty busy and hadn't made it home in a while. 

Happy Sunday everyone! Hope everyone has a good week and enjoy the pictures below :)

If anyone wants to buy me this little piggy, it's the last one needed to complete the set.

This is my car after the wreck :(

My sister's insanely cute cat:

My awesome new blanket (we won our first game for anyone NOT paying attention):

My even cuter cat who seems to love Shakespeare:

And Sam's incredibly cute cats sleeping on his backpack, because it's clearly comfortable?. Am i coming off as crazy cat lady? Only one cat is mine, the others happen to be on my phone as well, I don't think this helps my 'I'm not a cat lady argument'

Pieces of Paradise

I have a love/hate relationship with holidays, especially holiday weekends. You know, those holidays that are set up to give you a 3-day weekend every year. I'd like to clarify that I LOVE my days off as much as the next person. However, I feel like big holidays are always loaded with expectations, that year after year are impossible to meet.

Take New Year's Eve, for example, you're either expected to have a huge party full of crazy adventures or do something totally unexpected and unique. Why does life have to be one big competition? Why can't my quiet little evening of popcorn and movies count as fun and charming?

Well, bitterness aside for a moment, this pas Labor Day weekend delivered big time. Sam and I headed to Austin/San Marcos to visit some friends and family. While the planning was chaotic, it turned out to be planned beautifully. We saw 18 people in 3 days (it was technically 5 stops, but 18 people sounds more impressive).

It was a weekend full of relaxation, alcohol fun, crazy kids, and book shopping (Half Price Books was having a sale, how could we not?) It really was the perfect weekend, I'm still fully convinced that the lack of expectations made this weekend so amazing. We weren't worried about meeting a certain standard; so we just relaxed and let all the pieces fall into place.

The sad news in all this is that every high has to be offset by a low. Or so the universe seems to want to teach me. I took my car to the shop yesterday and found out my fuel pump is leaking...awesome. After a few hours and a few thousand phone calls, I found out it should be covered by the guarantee (this is only after a threat to get the fire department to clear my car for safety, that's a fun story for another day). They had to keep my car overnight, which sucks. Being carless in a commuter city that has no public transport is very frustrating, but I have the most amazing coworker who drove me home.

Another downside is that I have gone 4 days now without working out (travels kill my work outs every time) so I gotta get a few three mile runs before the 10th (yes I realize that today is the 5th, don't judge me).

Check back for updates on my (hopefully) successful crawl back to fitness. Again.

Activity Schedule

With my half marathon training starting on September 10th, I made a work out schedule.

It's mainly a basic running schedule I got from the Internet but I tweaked it to my liking (and added in my cross training and yoga classes). For example, most training schedules have you running every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. And then either a Friday or Wednesday. I personally hate that. I want to run Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. It's four days a week. And I alternate enough to recover. No 3 days in a row like others schedules. And I couldn't do just 3 days a week. Clearly, I'm the outcast on this because the majority of trainings I've found prefer the Tuesday/Thursday runs. I can't say I care much, I I've learned one thing about exercise it is to listen to your body and preferences. Ive always done cardio Mon/Wed/Fri and cross training Tues/Thurs and I'm not changing that now.

Not when I'm so scared of this training/challenge. I don't know why, but it's scaring me like crazy. I've run up to 8 miles before, so I know it's possible. But the possibility of failure is feeling so overwhelming, it feels like Mount Everest.

This is how I feel right now:

I'm hoping it's just pre-training anxiety. I've just started using runkeeper on my runs to measure how far I go. So far, I love it. Eventually I'd like to get a Garmin watch. But I need to be sure I'm willing to keep up my running up before spending 130 dollars on a watch. Regardless of how cool it is.

I also fond out last night that potatoes that have started growing roots really freak me out. like really freak me out. Sam thinks I'm crazy because I made him clean them up and cook them. Apparently you can cook potatoes in the microwave, I was not aware of this. He thinks it's common knowledge. Either, I'm behind the times on kitchen possibilities or he's a genius. I'd argue the former, he would go for the latter.

Shocking, I know.

We ended up making a nice meal of turkey burgers with cheese and avocado (no bun) and mashed potatoes, with skins of course. Not real mashed potatoes, just potatoes that you mash and put salt on, without all the goodness of cheese, milk, whipping cream or whatever your choice of mashed potato recipe. I just like that texture better.

I've got pump class tonight, and then a walk at the park. I really want to just skip right on home to play with my new laptop that Sam gave me for my birthday but apparently fitness is important...or something.

My laptop's name is R2-D2:

Birthday Weekend

It has been quite a hectic weekend.

First on Thursday night I baked a PB M&M brownie for a co worker's birthday on Friday. I'm really only bringing this up because I actually took pictures. Witness the gloriousness of homemade brownies below:

brownie batter goodness:

The finished brownie (with poke holes to make sure it was cooked thoroughly)

And my wonderful oven safety (I actually still use kitchen towels and always forget I own this, thanks to my wonderful mother who knows me quite well)

This weekend my family headed to Dallas to celebrate our birthday (I'm a triplet) with my brother who just moved there.  It was a wonderful weekend with lots of food (some might argue too much) and lots of family time. There might also have been drooling in the car. And a stop at Buccee's (those were unrelated to each other, amazingly).

If you don't know what Buccee's is, I feel bad for you. Do some research and go visit one. It should be on everyone's bucket list.

I did make it back Sunday after wonderful brunch of chocolate chip and peanut butter cup pancakes. Yes, it was outrageous. And tasted like a piece of heaven. Birthdays only come once a year. So stop judging. I played softball in the evening. We won the first game, lost the second. I played like a 6 year old at a T-ball game. It was terrible. I'm blaming the pancakes.

Yesterday was my birthday! Yay! I'm finally 24...actually I don't care much other than Sam tookg me out to sushi and my mom took me out to the Cheesecake Factory. And you thought my food gorging was over...

The dinner was great! Best sushi I've had in a while. And Sam got me a laptop! I can't believe it! He has been in an open war with my current computer. It is a little sad, I can't unplug it from the wall because the battery doesn't work. And it's slow, we're not talking 'take an extra second to load an Internet page' impatience slow; I'm talking about '5 minutes to open a program and refusal to stream videos properly' slow. Also, it doesn't shut down, only restarts itself...

Needless to say it was time to replace, but I never thought he'd get it for me! I've got a keeper :)

Speaking of this keeper, he's got me obsessed with freshly popped popcorn. It's so good. I even bought a bag so we could pop them at my place. And by 'we' I mean 'he', I'm too busy eating the popcorn to actually pop it. He always does two batches, and is lucky if he gets his half of the second one.

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

Popcorn counts as dinner, right?

I may have finally started to settle in an adult gym routine..maybe.

Tuesday, I went to Body Pump and Wednesday I attended a Yoga class. Both kicked my butt. My legs feel like they will give out any moment. I've also managed to run at least a mile or more on all three days.

That's right I'm kicking butt this week. And my eating is pretty in control. As long as you don't count the Chik-fil-a breakfast tacos that someone brought into the office Tuesday, or the kolaches someone else brought Wednesday. Work makes you fat.

Although, I only had one of each said breakfast items so it kept the damage under 300 calories both days. If you also include the fact that dinner has been oatmeal then popcorn the past two nights, I think I'll survive these small setbacks. I know, there's no nutritional value in popcorn. I said my work out routines have been adult-like not my eating habits.

Or my car maintenance habits. I had to drop off my car this morning to get a way overdue oil change and get the car looked at for some other issue because it doesn't sound healthy. I guess if I'm getting healthy my car has to follow suit? Can cars even be described as healthy? Who knows. As long as it doesn't break down on me, I'll be happy.

On to a completely unrelated topic, my frustration with the term young professionals. What does it even mean? When attending events for 'young professionals', the people attending are anywhere from 22-35 years old. And really they are mainly from 27-35 years old. Where are all the recent college grads struggling to get adjusted to this adult world of full time jobs, bills, and responsibilities? Does everyone hibernate until they're 27 and just magically come out? I mean I have nothing against the 27-35 year old crowd, I'm only a couple years away from them. And I have had a lot of fun with them. I just feel like the only (almost) 24 year old year old in the world. I also feel like I'm just faking my way through being a grown up. Like I'm not old enough for some things, like one day I'll suddenly know that I'm a grown up.

I've never felt ready for anything that's happened before (high school graduation, college, college grad, internship, the list goes on) so I don't know why I would suddenly have a revelation.

Start praying I make it to Body Pump class tonight, and maybe follow it up with a run. Also, I got my car back (yes, that's how long it took me to write this post) and it was only 35 dollars. Shopping spree, here I come! Maybe...

Happy Thursday Everyone!

Chelsea and Cookies

This weekend was the BEST weekend ever.

Ok, I know I say this almost every weekend. I mean it every time, though.

Particularly this weekend my old roommate from college, Chelsea, came to visit. And she's my favorite person ever (well, she shares the spot with Sam, don't want him getting jealous).

She got in at about 3 PM, we talked through what she wanted to do. She realized she didn't bring clothes to go to church on Sunday. So we decided a trip to Target was necessary (I know shocking, right?)

I would like to formally announce that I went to Target and only bought one item. Yes, only one. I am super human. Feel free to worship me be impressed. We both got dresses, which was exciting. Not because we're girls and love dresses, well yes,  partly for that, but mainly because we both wanted to get something that was out of character for us. And we succeeded and looked really cute doing so.

Our international dinner fell through, which was upsetting. So we decided to have some Cuban food instead. It was delicious.

It was also raining, so we decided it was a good night to bake cookies.

This means we made a mess (see pictures below)

Apparently spilling cocoa powder was not enough and cornstarch had to be involved as well.

Both spills were Chelsea's fault. But that is my beer sitting by her mess. (Go Texans!)

And of course I forgot to take pictures of the cookies when they were done because we ate them that quickly. Yeah we're fatties sometimes. This just means I'll have to make them again.

What a difficult life I have.

Sunday was quite relaxing with church, lunch, and an end of weekend Starbucks date. And of course going to visit the kittens at Sam's place. I love the kittens (and the boy too).

Those are the kittens, freaking adorable. 

This weekend left me exhausted and I went to bed at 8:30 (don't judge) and woke up at 5:15 for a run this morning. Yay for that. Will keep it going this week. And get back to my healthy eating.

Here's a sweet picture of Chelsea bonding with a kitten named Oreo

Chelsea bonding with a kitten

Home is where the Heart is

My very wise friend Chelsea (the one coming to visit) told me that to get back into my routine work outs, I should either go last night or this morning, then wrote a blog about how I felt and how it went.

Then I went to my parents house last night. And slept in this morning. Clearly that post is not happening today.

However, what I will write about is how utterly happy it makes me to spend time with my parents. I still refer to their house as home, and my apartment as 'the apartment'. I'm clearly an 8 year old trapped in a 24 year old body who is being forced to move out and be a productive member of society.

There's nothing better than having my mom spoiling me, making me food to take back to the apartment. And enjoying hanging out with the parents with no agenda.

While I couldn't wait to move out when I lived there, I love the feeling of going home. The feeling of being Home.

And that is my excuse for not working out. Hope it convinced you, it didn't really convince me. But I had a blast with my parents and wouldn't change it for anything.

Have a great weekend!

Why is my dad always right?

Before I started my job my dad warned me to be patient because it would be difficult. I thought "What is he talking about? I'm totally qualified for this (and I'm awesome)"

Once again, dad was right. It's not so much that the job is difficult. I learn a lot and have different duties than before, but nothing I can't handle. What's hard you ask? Change. I know, it's a stereotypical all encompassing answer. Sue me.

Let's put it another way, adjustment is hard. Happy? I left a job I worked at for almost 2 years. It was so familiar and easy. People trusted that I knew what I was doing and came to me for advice. Now, I'm the new girl that people assume doesn't know anything and is the SME (subject matter expert) on nothing.

Ok, let me clarify that I love my coworkers and my new place of work. It's by far my favorite of all the jobs I've ever hard. Yes, this includes my first job at 16 working at Cold Stone Creamery with all my best friends. That was a fun job. This is better. I just want to get to he point where I'm settled in and comfortable.

Enough with that.
 I bought my cat a 16.5 lbs bag of food. Because she eats that much. The kicker? She's bigger than the bag. Why do I have the gigantic diva cat?



Above is said bag. My cat is not rectanlge but she is 17lbs. You get the idea.

I'm also in a working out slump. Someone come kick my butt into shape, please.

And this weekend is shaping up to be awesome. Best friend coming to visit, yummy international dinner plans (details Monday), softball, and much more :)

Happy Friday Y'all!

This should have been posted yesterday....

I think I ate more this weekend than the entire state of Delaware did. Don't get me wrong, it was amazing. But now I feel like I could have rolled to work instead of driven. And I didn't work out at all except for playing softball (more on that amazingness later).

Friday, I got free tickets to watch the Astros play. And went to Flying Saucer for some pre-drinking, baseball and beer, match made in heaven. Except it's too expensive at the actual stadium. So drinking early is acceptable. We left the game early, which was the worst decision ever since they came back in the 9th inning. But it's the Astros, who could have known thus win a game?

I swear I love Houston sports, but there's a limit to how much losing one can handle.

Saturday was glorious. Not because I was widely productive or because anything actually happened. Saturday was amazing due to it being named a Lazy Day. This made it an acceptable reason to watch a million back to back episodes of Castle (don't judge me, it's a hilarious show) and then watch a movie later that night. Yes, you read that right. I graduated from tv show to movie. That was the extent of my accomplishments on Saturday. Oh right, I went grocery shopping. And Sam was the most amazing person ever and made me chicken fajitas. Yummy.

See? Food and tv. I believe I maxed out my useless quota for about 5 months.

Now Sunday was the highlight of my weekend. I started with lunch with a friend from high school/college. We caught up and talked wedding plans (for her wedding in which I'm a bridesmaid, yay)

Then came softball. Let's for a little recap for rules and participation. Our team consists of 15 people. To be able to play we must have at least 8, with a minimum of two girls. Now 8 people doesn't fill up a field. And two girls is not enough for rotation purposes (for batting purposes we alternate a guy and a girl).

Having said this, we pulled through and win both games! We were lucky and were able to recruit one guy and one girl for the first game. But they had to leave before our second game. And we got a free pitcher of beer for showing up. Which was obviously the ultimate highlight of the weekend.

Moral of this post: I love beer and food (too much for my own good). I'm lazy and need to get back to working out, regularly. I may have a hidden softball talent.

Love makes the world go round...

You know how in every group of friends there's that annoyingly happy person that you just want to slap? Ok well anyone who hates happiness skip the next two paragraphs.

 Now that those pessimists are no longer reading, this week I am that friend (no shame). I started my new job on Monday and I think it's impossible to love a job more than I've loved the past three days. Now, I fully realize that most people will say it's the newness and infatuation of something new. 

It's not. My first day they had a welcome lunch for me. Today there was a bridal shower (not for me) and champagne was had by all (except the pregnant ladies..again not me) Keep in mind this bridal shower started at 3 PM. And I left work at 7, no one forced me to stay late. I just haven't looked at the clock hoping the day would end. The day flies by and I don't even notice it. 

(You thought the title meant romantic love, didn't you? Nope, while I love Sam, this week, I'm happy about my life).

Ok that's over, sorry for the disgusting happiness. I'll keep that in check...maybe. Anyways, I've been obsessed with the song "That's what you get" by Paramore. Don't know why, doesn't actually relate to my life in anyway. But any of my old roommates can testify to the fact that I'll get obsessed with songs and play them on repeat for entirely too long. For this week, this is the song. 

I have made it to the gym this week (except today, too much champagne) and feel like a complete grown up. This job fits more of the ideal of what I thought a grown up job looked like. I'm getting involved in new activities (softball is also a lot harder than I remember as a high schooler) and people around me are now all getting engaged, married, and having babies. Which still scares me, I wonder if I'll ever feel old enough. 

I always feel like a kid playing dress up, like I somehow am an impostor in that world and I should go back to running through the sprinklers during summer time (don't lie, we've all done it..if not, well you should re-examine the quality of your childhood). I don't have any interesting stories to post today. Just boring stuff drom work, I know no one wants to hear that, I WILL spare you from that (Sam didn't get that luxury).

Back to running tomorrow and pump. I've loved going to pump class again. I'll assume all this exercise has also helped my mood. Whatever it is, I want to keep it going. I haven't felt in such good spirits in over two years. So excuse my absence from the blogging world while I enjoy this.

Have a wonderful Hump day!

Find a job you love and...

So it's late and I must get to bed for my second day of work tomorrow (and first Tuesday of work in a year and half). Before I do here's an overview of this weekend:

I went to the Brothers of the Sun Tour, aka: Tim McGraw and Kenny Cheney. Most amazing concert ever!

Sunday was my first softball game. We lost both games but I got on base 5 out of 7 times. Pretty much a win after 6 years of not playing. I did get a bruise from a second base collision but we'll call it a battle scar. Overall, I had an awesome time.

Today was my first day at the new job. And it was everything I wanted it to be. Nice coworkers, interesting workload, more intellectually challenging than the previous job. I actually enjoyed work for the first time in 2 years. Major win.

So I'm still learning to take pictures, because pictures are worth a thousand words and no one wants me to write that much. So here's the only two I managed to get. A pic of the concert at the end and my glove (that I'm working on breaking in because I waited last minute to buy it).

Hope everyone had a good Monday!

Why are we doing push-ups during yoga?

As promised I went to my yoga class yesterday. And it went pretty well. I was a little scared of being the worst one there, but there was a wide range of people. Including a girl in front of me who didn't care at all. So I looked like a yogi master next to her. place choice win.

In all reality I look more like this during yoga:



Actually, I liked it. It's different than previous classes I've taken. And I thought the instructor was going a bit fast; so it lacked the relaxation I've previously enjoyed. And we did a bunch of push-ups, what's up with that? I've never done push-ups in a yoga class. Planks, yes. Down dog, yes. Actual push-ups, no. And my arms were not ready for that kind of pressure, so I wimped out and did the girly  modified push-up version.  It was still a good work out though, so I can't complain.

I'll be going back and trying to incorporate some yoga into my routines to help with flexibility and toning. Flexibility is not my strength. At all. My sister has always made fun of my for my awkwardness while stretching. It's not my fault she's like Gumby and I'm more like a plank of wood. Life is not fair.

Good news: Today is my last day of work and I start my new job Monday! So clearly I'm updating this blog instead of working, like I should.

Have a Happy Friday!

Lily tries to talk me out of working out..

So tonight I'm my first yoga class at the new gym.Will let y'all know how that goes.

As I'm getting ready, Lily (my cat) attempts to talk me out of going by showing how cute she is and that I should play with her. It almost worked but then I remembered that the toning and flexibility thing won't get done by itself. So off to the gym I go.

My mom calls Lily a baby bear...wonder why :)

And I still need to get my softball glove for Sunday's game. Yes, I know I'm cutting it close. Whatevs. 

Alright leaving before Lily wins this staying home argument.

And I already suck at this...

Yeah it's been what two weeks since I posted anything? Great start. But really I'll try and get on more. I could give all the normal excuses about being really busy, but let's face it: who doesn't think they're busy? That's the all encompassing reason why we all procrastinate or just plain don't do things.


So I'll jump right into today's topic: what should I focus my time on?


My main problem is I want to do too many things. First off are the things I've already officially committed to (meaning I've paid something to participate): running (half marathon in sight), softball on Sundays, and I just bought a gym membership. So I have to run four times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday) in the morning, luckily I'm a morning person, mostly, and can do this. Every Sunday evening is softball. Every Sunday morning is Church. And apparently I'm supposed to show up to this thing called a job Monday-Friday to be able to pay my bills (who knew?). 


Here comes my problem. I want to include biking, rock climbing, yoga, and hanging out with friends and the boyfriend (he's probably appreciate it) sometimes too. And I can make most things fit in but biking. Rock climbing can be one of those things that's a treat, not every week but about every month or so. Biking is one of my favorite things in the world. But I go used to biking around my parents place and now that I've moved, I don't have a comfort zone anymore. And I have only taken my bike out once. But I don't want to give that up I just don't know when I could fit it in. Maybe Saturday afternoons, but this means I spend literally all my time working out. I figured I'd be exhausted and give it up, which I really don't want to do. I'll figure something out, hopefully it'll be a happy compromise. I'll let y'all know when I figure this out.


In happy news, I've only got two days of work left. Then it's on to the new job. Yay. I've been waiting for this moment for 6 months. I also may have missed my going away potluck at my current job. Oops, my bad. In my defense I didn't know it was that Friday and my brother was in town. Family first, right?


Alright, I've gone on long enough. If anyone's got suggestions for balancing my time, I welcome them. If not just wait and witness the hot mess I'll turn into, minus the hot. I'll just be a mess. 


Good night!

Dinner Parties are for Adults?

Ok so it wasn't like a formal dinner with lots of people like you see in Gilmore Girls or something. My boyfriend's coworker had Sam (the bf) and I over for dinner with him, his wife, their 3 month old daughter, and his mother in law. And it was the first time I felt like a grown up. We brought the desserts and they made a few traditional Chinese meals. (Adding item to bucket list: learning how to use chopsticks properly, I am the only one who used a fork tonight. What a loser.

It was quite a good night, and I am constantly reminded that going out and partying all night no longer qualifies as fun. (Nothing wrong if you like partying, I just can't handle the staying up so late anymore. Again what a loser). 

Also, got offered a new job (YAY!), won't be able to wear jeans to work anymore. Another step towards adulthood? Maybe. 

And lastly, I joined a softball team. Let's see how this works out for me. Be ready for lots of tales full of failure on my part. I never played softball on a real team, just pick up games with friends in high school. But I'm in this to learn more and make friends right? Right.

Good night everyone. I'm too old to be up this late.

And one more thing...

Two more things for today:


I need help on how to work this blog. I've never toyed with blogs before so if anyone has tips, advice, or anything at all on how to work the layouts or what to add, I would be forever grateful.


Second, I tried indoor rock climbing this weekend with a friend. And oh my god I am sore. I mean who knew how many muscles you have and don't actually use? It was a blast and I'd like to go again but currently I feel like I may die or soreness. I'll work on taking pictures when I go places. I'm not good at doing that but I'll try and get better about documenting things. 


Have a great day!

Introduction

Hi everyone, my name is Erika and this is my first attempt at blogging. I graduated from college two years ago and moved back to Houston to start living my "adult" life. And I've found out it's a lot harder than I thought. I'm pretty sure everyone knows about the crappy economy and how hard it is to get a job that pays well. Or a job at all. This sucks for everyone but especially those of us who watched all our older friends and siblings graduate, get awesome jobs and start living a "grown up" life. Now here I am after two years, I've (finally) moved out of my parents house with my sister. And we're trying to figure out how to make new friends, get new hobbies, and more importantly not end up broke.


What I'd like out of this blog is to document this journey and get feedback from anyone out there on suggestions about what to do, how they've met new friends after the constant social opportunities from college, and how to have a social life without straying from a healthy lifestyle all together.


So let's find out how fun Houston can be and how this post college life can be better than college itself!